Cervical Cancer

News about Cervical Cancer, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Aug. 16, 2014

Food and Drug Administration approves Avastin, drug made by Genentech, for use against late-stage cervical cancer; approval marks seventh approved use for biotech drug. MORE

Jun. 9, 2014

Most cases of cervical cancer are linked with the sexually transmitted HPV virus. So why are monogamous women who test negative for HPV still given pap smears? MORE

May. 25, 2014

Bonnie Rochman article details the way in which former fertility specialist David Walmer created and brought to market the CerviScope, low-cost device that could help diagnosis cervical cancer; notes that device is particularly valuable for developing nations, where, unlike in developed countries, cervical cancer is not considered a preventable disease. MORE

May. 5, 2014

Editorial welcomes approval of new genetic test that looks for viruses implicated in causing cervical cancer; notes some critics have opposed new test as a primary screening tool as it would displace the Pap smear; urges professional societies to develop guidelines on when and how doctors should use the new test. MORE

Apr. 25, 2014

Food and Drug Administration approves new test developed by Roche as the first alternative to the long-used Pap test as a primary screening method for cervical cancer; change was opposed by consortium of women's health groups who warn it will upend a practice that has successfully prevented cervical cancer for decades. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

Study published by Clinical Infectious Diseases and carried out in Brazil, South Africa and United States finds that vaccines against cervical cancer work well even in sexually active women with HIV; study also finds that women who have one or two strains of cancer-causing virus can be protected against others. MORE

Apr. 1, 2014

Pan American Health Organization says that 80 percent of girls in the Americas have access to vaccines against cervical cancer following Brazil's introduction of vaccine; vaccines are expected to have major impact on cervical cancer mortality. MORE

Mar. 13, 2014

Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommends that DNA test developed by Roche be approved as a primary alternative to the Pap test, mainstay of cervical cancer prevention for 60 years; new test detects the DNA of human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. MORE

Jul. 26, 2013

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vaccine for human papillomavirus--most common sexually transmitted infection and principal cause of cervical cancer--is not reaching enough teenage girls. MORE

Jun. 20, 2013

Federal health officials say prevalence of dangerous strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, has dropped by half among teenage girls in last decade, due largely to vaccine introduced in only 2006; HPV is most common sexually transmitted infection in United States and principal cause of cervical cancer. MORE

May. 10, 2013

Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, makers of vaccines against cervical cancer, announce they will cut their prices to world's poorest countries below $5 per dose, eventually making it possible for millions of girls to be protected against a major deadly cancer; disease kills estimated 275,000 women annually in poor countries where Pap tests are impractical and vaccine is far too expensive for average woman to afford. MORE

Mar. 25, 2013

Health professionals hope to make the shots more accessible, and to make the vaccine sound less scary to parents and daughters. MORE

Jan. 10, 2013

Study in journal Science Translational Medicine finds Pap test, which has prevented countless deaths from cervical cancer, may eventually help to detect cancers of the uterus and ovaries as well; for first time, researchers have found genetic material from uterine or ovarian cancers in Pap smears, meaning it may become possible to detect three diseases with one test. MORE

Sep. 25, 2012

Dutch company Qiagen has created a new, inexpensive DNA swab test for the papillomaviruses that cause cancer; test is being introduced in El Salvador as a way to screen poor women for cervical cancer. MORE

Jun. 26, 2012

Dr Christopher P Crum study in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports the identification of the cells in the cervix that give rise to cancer when attacked by the human papillomavirus; discovery may lead to new methods of preventing and treating the disease. MORE

Apr. 3, 2012

Dr Elmar A Joura study in journal BMJ finds that the vaccine against human papillomavirus can significantly cut the likelihood of virus-related disease even among women who have had surgery for cervical cancer caused by HPV. MORE

Feb. 21, 2012

Study in journal Cancer Prevention Research reports that the virus that causes AIDS also drives up production of a prostaglandin called PGE2, which can cause inflammation in cervical tissue and is linked to the development of cervical tumors; because aspirin is a powerful blocker of a chemical that allows prostaglandins to be formed, research suggests that low-dose aspirin should be investigated for as a tool in preventing cervical cancer. MORE

Jan. 31, 2012

Editorial on federal study findings that Americans are getting screened for three major cancers--breast, cervical and colorectal-- at rates far below national targets; contends that plight of Americans who are now unable to pay for cancer screening tests underscores the need to retain the health care reform law to help pay for preventive care. MORE

Nov. 15, 2011

Study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases finds that widespread use of vaccine that targets four major types of cancer-causing Human Papilloma Virus has not led to an increase in other strains of HPV; study's lead author is Anne F Rositch of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. MORE

Oct. 30, 2011

News analysis; pronounced shift in cancer research is under way, with expert groups proposing less screening for prostate, breast and cervical cancer; experts say snowballing evidence shows that number of cases that can be helped by early detection through widespread screening is small, and emphasize that screening comes with harms as well as benefits. MORE

Oct. 20, 2011

United States Preventive Services Task Force says it is reasonable for women to seek pap smear tests to prevent cervical cancer every three years instead of every year. MORE

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